Peel me a grape
by ifnotforthemoonlight
Summary: Written for the 2015 Nine Lives Smutfest. "Not laughing anymore, they stared at eachother. Daryl stood in front of her, his whole body tensed. He looked like a feline in predatory mode, ready to jump on top of its prey as he dropped his crossbow to the ground. Carol almost felt scared by his feral gaze, but she felt bold enough to..."
1. Onesies and water bowls

**Onesies and water bowls**

Carol woke up feeling uncomfortable. Her steel bed held a too thin mattress, and while most nights she was used to it, sometimes it felt like sleeping on a bed of nails. Although it was cold outside, the stuffy air and the heat from the furnace Rick and the guys installed just next to her cell wall didn't let her sleep.

She shifted a few times before deciding to get up, not knowing exactly what her destination would be. She passed through the other cells, listening to the heavy breathing, snoring and coughing of the prison's other residents. She walked silently, trying not to bother anyone, until she got to the locker rooms. She looked at her passing reflection on a stained mirror, and she had to chuckle at how ridiculous she looked. Her soft green polar fleece one-piece pajamas set made Carol feel like a peapod boiling in hot water.

She unzipped the pajamas so the top part of the onesie slipped off, letting the cool air embrace her skin. She tied its arms loosely to her waist and went to the sink where a bowl of water had been left for whoever needed freshening up. She dipped her hands and took the fresh water to her face, spreading it with her fingers on the back of her neck and her shoulders. The thick drops of water made their way down her throat and between her breasts, ending their delightful journey on the neckline of her tank top.

Carol felt her nipples harden against the fabric of her top, and she almost gasped. Her hands took another dive in the bowl, and this time she took them directly to her chest, feeling the water cascade over her shirt. She tucked her hands under the top, its straps falling over her arms, and felt her firm breasts under her hands.

Now she looked at herself in the mirror, and didn't feel ridiculous. The soaked fabric outlined her upper body, and her rock hard nipples showed through it. With her eyes half closed, shot with craving, Carol held on to the sink with one hand while the other slowly, but with no hesitation, slipped inside the lower part of her pajamas to feel herself. Carefully, she inserted two fingers inside her hot wetness, pressing the heel of her hand on her mound, and started the massage she knew so well. It had been too long since she last had a moment of lonely intimacy like that, although she found herself thinking about it quite frequently.

She had never touched herself standing up, and that made the whole situation feel new and sexy. Carol couldn't hold back a moan… and that's when she heard a noise from the adjacent room.

She snapped her hand from her panties as if she had burned it, and her heart sank to the floor. Anxiously, she looked around and was relieved to see that there was no one there. But the sound of running water kept filling the room. She quietly paced to the entrance of the adjacent common shower room, and had a peek inside.

There he was.

There were three showerheads on the tiled white wall, and Daryl stood under the one at the middle. He had his back turned to her and he was completely naked. At first she retreated immediately, leaning on the other side of the wall. As the back of her head touched the cold cement, Carol closed her eyes realizing that she had just seen Daryl bare-assed taking a shower, an image she tried to fabricate herself inside her head so many times.

She intended to leave and respect his privacy, she really did, but her whole body disobeyed. She turned around again, tilting her head so that only her eyes emerged from behind the wall, allowing her to see the beautiful picture once more.

Daryl's hand was against the wall, legs apart and his head was bowed, letting the water hit him directly at the nape. She could see broad shoulders and a muscular back, like a canvas to his remembered suffering. She couldn't decide what was more beautiful, the tattoo of two winged angel-like figures whirling towards his right shoulder, or the straight faded red lines, reminders of his once endured pain.

She was amazed on how strong and manly his thighs were, and of course, she had never seen first-hand such beautifully shaped buttocks.

His left arm was moving in an awkward rhythm, as if he was scratching his belly or…

 _Oh. Right._

It took a while for realization to kick in, and then Carol knew what he was doing. He was pleasuring himself, just as she had tried to do a few moments before. She felt her cheeks heating and her heart beating even faster, but most of all, she felt happy… even relieved at the confirmation that Daryl allowed himself to feel lust and desire.

That was when she turned away and tiptoed her way out of there.

She arrived at her cell panting. The ache between her legs was still there, stronger than ever. She paced around, shaking her arms, throwing back her head and breathing, but it didn't go away. As she sat on the mattress, she instinctively put her arms around her bended knees and squeezed her legs together. That was all it took to feel the spasms within her, and Carol let out a hard breath as she convulsed with pleasure.

After that, she fell on the bed and slept until morning.


	2. The red beanie

**The red beanie**

After seeing Daryl naked in the shower, Carol thought she would act strangely around him, although she loved him, and had loved him for a long time now. But the awkwardness never happened. She only felt what she was used to, the trouble and the desire: the trouble of not having what she desired most. Their bond was special, yes, and it was something she cherished with all her heart. At the same time, he was the first man for who she ever felt such an overwhelming physical attraction.

She had convinced herself that her time to experience love, to be in love, to be loved… it had passed. She would never be wanted and desired, she would never get to lose herself in the arms of a man. The brief touches and flirtations that had happened between them were nothing more than that.

Daryl was Daryl, and he was the sweetest, most steadfast and honorable man that she had ever thought possible to exist. But he was still a man, and Carol was sure that if the right busty blond happened to drive by in hot pants and fishnets, he wouldn't even look back.

With the realization of that Carol felt disillusioned. She was prepared to own the incident in the shower room as an intimate moment shared with him, even if it had been without his knowledge. That was all she considered herself to be worthy of.

What she wasn't prepared for was the sudden drop in temperature on the supply run to the towns nearby.

Sasha, Michonne, Glenn and Maggie travelled in the truck. Carol and Daryl followed on the bike. Being Daryl's companion was a no brainer to him, when she looked from him to the bike he just took her arm and directed her to his back. It was a protective motion, like when you're driving in the car with loved ones and have to hit the brakes suddenly… Even when the seatbelt is strapped, people tend to stretch their arm in front of the passenger to prevent them from falling. His movement reminded Carol of that and it softened her heart.

They found a safe camping site for the night and all agreed that Sasha and Michonne would split watch for the first night on the road.

With the cold it was obvious that they should share sleeping bags for warmth. Carol was going to approach Maggie so they could share, hoping to pry the young woman away from Glenn for a night, but he outran her, looking back with an apologetic smile.

Carol stopped and looked back at Daryl, oblivious to her narrowing eyes at the change of the sleeping arrangements.

He was immersed in finishing his outdoorsy tasks: checking the perimeter, fanning the fire's flames and setting the sleeping bag with his poncho tucked inside it for extra warmth. He then stretched his arm, hand open in Carol's direction saying "C'mon sleepin' beauty, your bed's ready".

"Alright, alright, keep your hair on Mr. Dixon," she smiled at him preparing to enter the big warm cocoon. She was used to the proximity of his body when they rode the bike, but this was more, and it made her nervous.

Carol tried to shake off the images of him, leaning against the wall, naked with the shower pouring over him, his muscles highlighted by the crystal gleam of the water, stroking himself…She crouched to slide in the sleeping bag, fully clothed, and put a warm woolen beanie on her head.

She tried to concentrate on her hat. It was a stupid hat, red with a pom pom on top, and Carol loved it. She once had mentioned to Carl, playfully, that he was lucky to have his hat on all the time… he would never let his ears catch a cold. After that, he brought her the red beanie as a gift, from a run he had gone with Rick.

It was perfect, pristine, totally disconnected from the reality they were in, where everything was dirty, ragged and shattered. She was sure Daryl was going to make fun of her… But he didn't.

Instead he gazed at her, smiling delicately as he held the cover so she could get in. She saw tenderness in his eyes, and maybe a hint of… pride?

He lied next to her and zipped the sleeping bag only halfway, she knew he hated feeling stuck, and started immediately to rub her arms in an attempt to keep her warm. She was tired and soon fell completely asleep snuggled in his protective arms.

Carol woke up during the night feeling suffocated. It took her a moment to realize she was being held around the waist by the strongest arms she had ever felt. She turned her head to look behind her, and she saw part of Daryl's face buried against her shoulder. Hot air on her neck told her he was asleep, breathing heavily.

His arms though… his arms were tight around her waist, pulling her close with a heavy grip. She shifted a little bit, hoping that he would loosen up the strength of his embrace, but he only stirred in reaction to her movement and held her even tighter.

In another attempt to free herself, Carol wiggled her hips, accidentally grinding back against him. She immediately stopped, frozen and embarrassed because of what she felt.

He was hard.

Hard and asleep.

A wave of desire struck her whole body making her dizzy with the crushing want and she couldn't help letting a rough gasp slip out. Again, she decided to lay completely still, hoping that morning came quickly, but her hips didn't comply.

She leaned her ass against him, feeling his full length against her, and it made her damp and hot. Her inner muscles started to contract involuntarily, defending themselves against the growing ache between her legs. It made her grind against him a little bit more, instinctively searching for friction.

Carol closed her eyes, focusing all her strength on being quiet. She wasn't used to having these kinds of uncontrolled feelings around someone else. Her body was having a life of its own, driven only by the craving she felt for him, and now she was sweating under the layers of clothing, panting like a dog, thinking about putting her hand to her sex in order to end her misery.

To make her shameless behavior complete, she couldn't help pressing her buttocks against him once more. She felt him, large and stiff against her and could feel that he was big. Her mind travelled to feeling his big, hard cock entering and stretching her, unlike any other man.

Suddenly, his hand closed against her hip, making a firm stop to her movement. He was awake and Carol felt mortified, only able to close her eyes and keep quiet, pretending to be asleep. She heard him growl as he kept her backside separated from him, holding her away.

But then, Daryl pulled her to him in a quick movement, and as her ass bumped on his hardness, she exhaled and ground against him again, shamelessly and deliberately. It took only him pressing just a little bit between her legs to get her to twitch inside and ignite her intimate spasms, feeling her whole body shake under his hand.

He moaned heavily against her neck, and she felt his hands tighten on her hips, teeth grazing her shoulder before he stilled, making Carol shudder once more.

They didn't talk or move for a long time. They laid there, back to front, until he caressed her shoulder, and gave her a small reassuring squeeze. She covered his hand with hers and let it linger until she fell back to sleep.


	3. The black rhinoceros

**The black rhinoceros**

The awkwardness didn't creep in, as once again she had expected. The following night had been their turn to take watch and so they alternated sleeping and keeping guard near the truck. Finally he called her Waldo when she was putting on her red beanie and laughed. That was the proof she needed to know they were fine.

The next day, the temperature rose, and the need to keep their bodies warm while sleeping decreased. Carol felt oddly relieved, not having to face sharing Daryl's sleeping bag again. What if he dismissed her? Would she be hurt? What if they were stuck together again, would she lose it one more time? Would he?

She felt a weight lift off her shoulders as she shifted back to her previous mindset. It had been an isolated event. A physical reaction that could not be avoided. It was bound to happen between people who lived close together and shared everything. Nothing more.

So far, the run had gone smoothly, with few walker encounters and no encounters with foreign non-walkers. They had collected enough supplies to fill the truck's bed and decided not to push their luck and start the trip back to the prison.

Once they started driving, they passed a beautiful red bricked old southern mansion. It must have been closed for more than a few years now, by the way its high iron gates were chained and secured with heavy rusty locks.

The majestic dark stoned house towered over them, and they couldn't help but feel amazed by its greatness. The surrounding grounds were drowned in wild vegetation, and it looked like it had been abandoned for a long time, even before the outbreak.

Maggie was driving the truck, and she stopped. From the vehicle windows, Sasha and Maggie raved about the idea of stopping for half an hour to explore. Carol could see Michonne frowning and Glenn shrugging on the background. She abstained from giving her opinion because she felt amused with the exchange between Maggie and Daryl. At first, he harshly denied their pleas, but he eventually gave in, making them compromise on the safety measures that he felt that were necessary to be taken. She loved to see the softer side of him, and she wouldn't mind one bit to stretch her legs.

As they all went to clear the house and scavenge its treasures, Daryl stayed behind. He had his crossbow and decided to explore the grounds.

He lightly touched Carol's arm, a silent plea for her to keep him company. She felt her knife strapped to her waist and nodded.

They started walking around the house and into the dense vegetation, passing through several areas that must have been private gardens, each one with its theme. They saw old fountains, broken benches, a pool filled with still water and mud. They never let their guard down, but found themselves lazily exploring the area.

The flowerbeds, although not being cared for, had grown into untamed bushes of amazingly exotic flowers. The sweet smell followed them, and to Carol it was like they were walking inside an enchanted forest.

They reached another small garden closed with a short wooden gate. Daryl looked to Carol and she nodded, curious about what was within. He stepped over the gate, and gave her his hand to help her maintain her balance as she followed him.

Once they broke the new ground they reached another fountain, this one left them both gaping. It was a massive sculpture of a rhinoceros in what appeared to be dark marble, suspended over a huge round white marble basin. Awestruck, they gazed at it for a while. When they looked at each other's open mouths Carol couldn't help giggling. Daryl chuckled right back and they entered The Giggle Loop, after a few moments they were openly laughing at each other.

Carol knew that she was the sole owner of his carefree laughter, that it was exclusively hers. These moments they shared between just them filled her heart with love and tenderness.

Supporting herself on the stone basin she held her stomach. Her abdominal muscles were starting to hurt so she leaned on the edge, wiping a tear that prickled her eye.

She looked up then, and their eyes locked.

Not laughing anymore, they stared at eachother. Daryl stood in front of her, his whole body tensed. He looked like a feline in predatory mode, ready to jump on top of its prey as he dropped his crossbow to the ground. Carol almost felt scared by his feral gaze, but she felt bold enough to look him straight in the eyes, taking a deep breath holding it in inside her chest. He took a step towards her without breaking eye contact, he undid her belt and unzipped her pants, hastily dragging them down her legs. Carol could feel the fabric scratching her skin as it reached her ankles.

He took her boots off, one by one and she stood there, hanging on to the edge of the fountain with both hands, completely naked from the waist down and panting. She felt her newly bare feet touch the damp grass under her, and couldn't resist caressing it with her toes. Daryl had one knee on the ground and looked up at her, eyes still fixed. He leaned his forehead against her belly, taking in her scent, and she dug her fingers into his hair. She pulled on it, making him look at her again, and she stopped seeing the predator for a brief moment, and saw a man in love.

Carol let go.

He took her knee, spreading her legs apart, revealing her, and put it over his shoulder. She welcomed the stretch of her muscles, her knee flexing over his right shoulder, foot completely arched against him.

If someone saw them from afar, Carol's limbs looked like an extension of the white marble of the fountain's base holding part of the wild forest with her leg, ready to be crushed by a giant rhinoceros that was about to fall over her. Suddenly in her head she heard Dusty Springfield singing " _I'm getting hungry, peel me a grape"_.

It just added to the surreal feeling of the whole situation.

Daryl opened her folds slowly and carefully with his fingers, and Carol threw her head back in anticipation. In the midst of her building desire and the carefulness with which he handled her she realized that no one had ever kissed her there, right where Daryl was positioning himself.

As if he read her mind, he mouthed her sex, caressing it with his tongue and sucking her clit with long hard strokes. They shared their first kiss in a way that Carol had never been kissed before. She grabbed the collar of his shirt, her head falling forward and she let out a moan that turned into a tuneless wail.

He palmed her hips as he continued to drink her with an impossible rhythm. He stroked her with his tongue until she cried in ecstasy, holding on to him as she lost strength in her leg. Beneath his mouth, Carol's whole body convulsed in the most intense orgasm she ever imagined to be possible.

After, she slid against him, and onto his lap, her arms wound around his neck and their eyes met again. His beautiful, half-closed blue eyes, were hidden under the locks of dark hair that fell over his face. He leaned his face towards hers, almost touching their lips, but instead of the kiss she expected, he whispered against her mouth:

"You said it would be better if I went down first." The corner of his mouth lifted into a devilish grin, and only after that did his mouth cover hers.


	4. From under the blanket

**From under the blanket**

Carol woke up in the middle of the night feeling uncomfortable. They had been back for only a few days, and Daryl had already gone on another run without her. This time there had been no pretending, the awkwardness had kicked in.

They had left the rhinoceros garden in a hurry after realizing they had been gone long enough to worry the others. There was no time to… maybe talk? Carol wasn't sure they could ever talk about what happened. Things were better off left simple: they were there for each other.

She'd felt languid and drowsy on the journey back to the prison, holding on to Daryl on the bike. Her heart swelled with the feelings she had for him. He had given her a gift and she had accepted it with her heart and her body.

But after they arrived home to the prison, everything was weird. Like a different-brand-of-milk weird: it doesn't taste bad, but it's not familiar.

She found hidden meanings in everything, like when they were cleaning the sleeping bags from the trip and their eyes met... The way he caught her ogling at him as he sucked his fingers after eating, the way they accidently bumped into each other while trying to give the other passage in the halls. The way he chuckled at her when she once wore her red beanie at dinner, but then stopped because everybody was staring at him trying to figure out what the joke was.

Soon, they were avoiding each other completely. It was stupid, and Carol knew it, but she didn't know how to fix it.

She missed him.

She thought about going to the lockers and have a meeting with her friends: Mr. Water Bowl and Miss Carol's Right Hand, but she quickly dismissed that idea. Her need wasn't merely physical this time, she needed more than release.

She needed Daryl.

His arms around her, holding her with that possessive strength he had shown her while sharing his sleeping bag. His watchful gaze whenever she turned her head at him. Their private, relaxed, moments together.

So, Carol just stayed in her cell, curled under her thick, heavy blanket, lost in her own reflections of what her life could have been if she had found love… or if love had found her. Those thoughts only arose when she was not consumed by thoughts of survival. In a way, it was a good thing. It meant she felt safe.

When morning arrived, the prison was alive again. People were waking up and leaving the cell block to go on with their chores. They all left, until Carol was alone. No one came for her, and she knew that it didn't mean that they didn't care. They knew that from time to time everyone needed to be alone for a while.

Carol lost track of time, she didn't even remember if she dozed off for a little while, she only came back to reality when she felt a rush of air on her face caused by the sudden opening of her cell's improvised curtains. She looked up from under the warm blanket, thinking that maybe they had been ripped, when she saw Daryl standing there, looking at her and frowning.

"What the fuck Carol, why weren't you with the others?" he rebuked her.

"Good morning to you too!" Carol said rubbing her eyes. She cleared her sight and watched him carefully, sighing with relief at seeing him return safe and sound.

"Don't give me that shit… are you sick?" he started pacing back and forth. "You weren't at the yard when I arrived… You weren't at the kitchen, you weren't at the tower, you weren't at the pantry… or at the library…" he was raising his voice while waving his hands at her.

She slowly got up from her bed, walked towards him and hugged him softly, as if she was trying to calm down a crying baby. He immediately responded by shutting up and resting his head on the crook of her neck, taking a deep breath and letting her caress his nape.

"It's okay Daryl, I just needed to be alone for a little bit, I'm fine".

"You look ridiculous in that green shit you're wearing" he hissed against her neck.

"I love you too Daryl" she teased.

She thought that he would laugh at her words, but instead he pushed her away, holding her by her shoulders. He stared into her eyes, biting the inside of his lip.

"You do?" his voice was anxious.

She stared at him, smile fading from her face. "Of course I do…"

And then his lips crashed into hers, with the violence of the feelings that had been consuming him since arriving from the run: his fear of losing her. She responded with the same intensity, the intensity of someone who was tired of only surviving since she was born. She kissed him with the greediness of feeling alive.

Their teeth clashed, but they didn't flinch. She held on to him as he gripped her head with both hands, pulling her into him more and more. He growled into her mouth while his tongue invaded her, finishing each onslaught with the hard sucking of her lips.

Daryl continued to kiss her as he unzipped her one piece and slid it over her arms. It dropped to the floor and Carol stepped out of it, keeping on her tank top and panties.

"I need you" she whispered into his kiss. She meant it, in the broad sense of the word, forever until the world ended. Her hands reached his belt buckle, and undid it before unzipping his pants and pulling them down just below his buttocks.

She took his length in her hands, and it felt just as she imagined, hard, hot and smooth. Daryl stopped kissing her then, taking in the feeling of her small hands on him, as their eyes locked again. She circled his shaft with her hand and ran her finger over the head, where drops of his essence were already overflowing through his slit. Carol took her finger to her mouth, tasting his most intimate flavor, owning her shameless indecency and looking at him from under her eyelashes.

He had been on edge since they had started kissing, and at her shamelessness, he lost it. With a growl, he lifted her by her ass, her arms coming around his neck and her legs wrapping around his waist. As he held her effortlessly with only one arm, he used his free hand to push her panties to the side and lead her to his cock. With one hard movement he was inside of her, and they both cried out at the overwhelming feeling of being suddenly joined.

He had to stop for a moment to catch his breath, even without another thrust between them, he felt her nails digging into his back and her muscles contracting around his length. He walked to the edge of her small desk and put her down, legs still wrapped around him.

He quickly took her top off and pressed one hand on the wall for leverage, as he grabbed her buttocks with the other hand. He collided with her, thrusting hard while claiming her breasts, sucking on her nipples, as she arched backwards screaming in ecstasy.

Carol felt his release filling her as he trembled, moaning against her chest. They stayed that way, holding that position, panting. Their sweat mixed together in a beautiful glitter that covered their skins.

They were still joined when Carol felt him becoming hard again inside her. She felt his length swelling and throbbing while he was still resting his head on her chest. She was surprised at her own reaction, because the ache hadn't gone away. Her muscles immediately began their work sucking him in even further.

Daryl got up and carried her to the bed. He took off his clothes and her panties, moving with a haste that made him anxious and ungraceful. He turned her over, and the sight of her ass up in the air like that made him fully erect again. He took her from behind, ramming mercilessly into her as he held her hips.

"I love you Carol, I'm yours." he said between gasps as he thrusted slower, but harder, reaching deep inside her. "You have me. Don't ever disappear on me again" he commanded as he continued to drive into her.

The world stopped in Carol's mind right then. She saw flashes of herself, a little girl, not ever loved enough by her own father, a young woman settling for the love of a man who turned out to be a liar and an abuser… and everything seemed to vanish. It faded away like words written in sand as they're swallowed by crashing waves. There was only her and him, and the power of being loved back.

Her orgasm came quickly and unexpectedly, and as he felt her contracting around him he let go emptying himself inside her once more.

She dropped herself on the bed and he fell over her, both exhausted but sated. After a few moments she turned around and he shifted so that they laid on her bed facing each other with their bodies tangled together.

They would stay like that for a long time before returning to reality. But even the harsh truth of their lives shifted at the undeniable fact that they now belonged to each other.

For as long as the earth moved and there were still breaths to be taken.


End file.
